Sacramentally, My Dear Watson
by March Hare
Summary: Was Sherlock Holmes a Roman Catholic? Another brief monograph from the mad musings of March Hare.


Greetings to all! Hare here, with another monograph for your perusal. Chapter Fifteen is mired in writer's block, so I hacked this out to stave off boredom in my loyal readers! Please take note that this is NOT to be taken seriously! It's just a spurious little essay, in keeping with the Great Game, meant to make you laugh and make you think. Took me all of two hours to write.  
  
Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review!  
  
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Sacramentally, My Dear Watson: Was Sherlock Holmes Roman Catholic?  
  
by March Hare, the Mad  
  
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On a recent list entitled "Twenty-One Things You Didn't Know were Catholic," Catholic columnist Julie Rattey lists as Number Two, just under the French soup bouillabaise, Mr. Sherlock Holmes! Miss Rattey comments that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was of a Catholic family, and brought up in a Jesuit school. Such inferences into the religion of the literary agent had little to do with the detective himself, but it was a sufficient spark to engage my thoughts. After some research, however, the author has uncovered a great deal of evidence that points to the religious tendencies of history's greatest consulting detective: Sherlock Holmes was indeed a Roman Catholic.  
  
In order to properly investigate the genesis of religious predilections, we must begin with the genesis of the man himself. Peter Tremayne, the eminent Sherlockian scholar, had recently disclosed evidence that directly contradicts the legendary Baring-Gould biography. Holmes, according to Tremayne, was not from North Riding, England, but from Galway, Ireland! He was Irish!  
  
Tremayne has traced Holmes' lineage in connection with Robert Holmes, Sherlock's paternal uncle, the famed Galway lawyer who instigated reform in the Irish school system, commissioning the Irish National School to the benefit of the poorer classes. Tremayne has further followed the footsteps of the Holmes, reconciling the famed question of where Holmes attended university. For years, scholars have argued over the two most likely choices, Oxford or Cambridge, but the pioneering Tremayne has definitively placed Sherlock, along with his esteemed brother Mycroft, as alumni of the renowned Trinity College of Dublin. It was in Ireland that Holmes made the early acquaintance of the famous playwrights, Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. Being raised in a Catholic country, however, does not guarantee religion, but the seed of faith remains. Whether or not the seed was cultivated must be proved through other evidence.  
  
Before now, all of Sherlockania has been quick to dismiss Holmes' eccentricities at face value, but what if they possessed a deeper, more spiritual conviction? For example, Holmes was often observed by Watson to miss several meals, even when not embroiled in a case. Was Holmes merely caught up in some trivial experiment, or could this be a sign of fasting, a discipline of the body widespread among Catholics, but rarely practiced by Anglicans? One must keep in mind that "fast" does not equal "starvation." For Roman Catholics of the day, fasting was defined as consuming only one full meal during the day, limiting one's self to bread and water for the remainder of the day. It is often recorded by Watson that, even when starved from hours of reconnaissance, Holmes would disdain the prospect of supper in favor of plain bread. Could Holmes have been disciplining himself as a penance, whether for himself or for the sins of the villain he pursued?  
  
Another proof is found in Holmes' sense of mercy. In "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," Holmes confronts Ryder, the would-be jewel thief, for robbing the Countess of Morcar. Ryder, grief-stricken, makes a full confession, vows to acquit the wrongfully accused Horner and casts himself upon the detective's mercy. Rather than turning him in to Scotland Yard, however, Holmes opens the door and releases the penitent man. Why did Holmes do that? He did not fulfill the ends of justice that he so thirsted after; a wrongful deed was left unpunished. However, Holmes as Catholic gives us a perfectly reasonable explanation. Most likely educated from youth on Catholic principles and morals, Holmes would have a great appreciation of sin and forgiveness. Knowing that the Lord Himself tempers justice with mercy, Holmes would be eager to follow His example and grant mercy to those who ask it. Note here that the hardened, unrepentant criminals, such as Colonel Moran, Holmes has no qualms about putting away. Yet, with reformed wrongdoers such as Ryder from "The Blue Carbuncle," and John Turner of "The Boscombe Valley Mystery," Holmes frees them from earthly persecution and places his Faith in the Last Judgment.  
  
Perhaps the most telling proof lies in Holmes' reverence for things Catholic. In the beginning of the greatest of Holmes' cases, "The Hound of the Baskervilles," Dr. Mortimer asks Holmes if he was familiar with the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. Holmes promptly replies, "I had observed some newspaper comment at the time, but I was exceedingly preoccupied by that little affair of the Vatican cameos, and in my anxiety to oblige the Pope I lost touch with several interesting English cases."  
  
Lost touch with, not one, but several cases?? How very unlike Holmes! Often in his lifetime, Holmes would take on more than one case at a time, as in the affair of Violet Smith in "The Solitary Cyclist," during which Holmes was simultaneously occupied in the peculiar persecution of John Vincent Harden, the American tobacco millionaire. Why, then, would Holmes neglect several cases, and interesting ones at that? The answer is found earlier in his statement: "in my anxiety to oblige the Pope." Holmes had often disdained cases and acclaims from the heights of power, even to the point of rejecting a knighting from King Edward the Peacemaker! Why would Holmes, with little or no sense of deference to those in power, leap to attention at a summons from Leo XIII, then reigning as Pontiff? The only logical explanation from Holmes' hasty flight to Rome is his Catholic faith, deferring to His Holiness as the temporal head of the Church.  
  
Through the process of observation and deduction, we have reasoned that Holmes is indeed Roman Catholic. The final question is: why have we not heard of this before now? Was Watson somehow unaware of his friend's religion? This is highly doubtful, since even the normally unobservant doctor could not fail to miss his companion's absence every Sunday morning. The most probable answer is that Watson attempted to edit any mention of Holmes' religion out of his tales. Anglicans of that day and age were rather prejudiced against Catholics, especially Irish Catholics, and Watson was careful not to expose his friend to small-minded ridicule.  
  
In conclusion, we have both seen and observed that Sherlock Holmes was Roman Catholic. Through his heritage, his practices, his morals and his love of his faith, we receive a portrait of not only a brilliant man, but a holy one as well. How fitting that the hero of the Canon should be a possible candidate for canonization!  
  
~* Saint Sherlock Holmes, patron of detectives, pray for us! *~  
  
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So what did you think? Was it cute? Was it stupid? Did it make you go, "Hmmm. . ."? Review and tell me! And keep your eyes peeled for Chapter Fifteen!  
  
REVIEW!!!!!! 


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